A new crop of peas have entered the pods: “Love is Blind” is back. The first five episodes of season two are out on Netflix. And five more are dropping on Feb. 18. (Psst...if you've been living under a reality TV rock, here's how the show works. Think: "The Bachelor" meets "Married At First Sight.") Just like the first season (which came out in Feb. 2020), the latest episodes are creating a buzz on social media. And it's no surprise, considering that season one captured the hearts of more than 30 million viewers. But why is everyone so obsessed with this show slash social experiment?  Maybe. It's no surprise to millennials that dating is pretty different than it was for our parents and grandparents. (Hello, dating apps.) But many feel like online dating can be superficial, putting more of an emphasis on looks than personality, background or hobbies. Enter: "Love Is Blind." It flips that notion, and instead, focuses on creating an emotional connection between two people before they meet IRL. Couples spend time getting to know each other by chatting through a wall in separate pods. They can only hear each other's voices, and don't get to meet until they are engaged. You read that right, engaged. To some, it's an “insane” or “unhinged” idea. But the show forces us to face the truth about how physical appearance factors into our dating decisions. We all know that we shouldn't judge a book by its cover. But when it comes to relationships, physical attraction can be pretty important. “There is this common sensical notion that people who care a lot about physical appearance are shallow, or they’re investing in the wrong thing,” Viren Swami, a professor of social psychology at the UK’s Anglia Ruskin University told CNBC. “But in reality, romantic relationships are based, partly at least, on the fact that we find other people physically attractive.” The show hasn't gone without criticism though. Experts and viewers say that the cast is pretty attractive — and they have similar body types. And without more diverse contestants, they think that the "social experiment" the show claims to be isn't very accurate. The show’s creator Chris Coelen told the LA Times that “The goal in casting was, let’s find people, regardless of what they look like…and ultimately we were only able to follow so many stories.” In reality, not everyone is able to sign up for this social experiment. In the real world, a blind date is as close to the "Love is Blind" experience as it comes. And while they can seem like a risky move — dating apps are taking note and saying 'why not?' On Feb. 10, Tinder released its "Blind Date" feature as part of its Fast Chat series in the US. Which it said is “inspired by the OG way to meet someone new.” Here’s how it works: Users are paired based on their commonalities. Then they enter a timed chat. During this session, they answer icebreaker questions. And when the clock runs out, they can like each other's profiles revealing their match's pictures or they can get paired with someone new. And so far, matches are up. Tinder said matches increased by 40% during early testing, compared to other Fast Chat features which include pictures. Ultimately, only time will tell for these couples and the ones on the show if "Love is Blind." But until then, we’ll get out our popcorn. The novelty and unpredictability of “Love is Blind” has captivated viewers across the board. But it’s not just about the drama. It’s also forcing people to evaluate our own dating values. And set boundaries for what they’re really looking for in a partner. Sign up for the Daily Skimm email newsletter. Delivered to your inbox every morning and prepares you for your day in minutes.
Netflix Watch your back, Bachelor producers: The second season of Netflix's Love Is Blind premiered on February 11. The juicy and addictive show follows men and women as they go on a series of blind dates in hopes of finding the one. Will they fall in love and get engaged without ever seeing each other? That's exactly the question that's sucking viewers in like crazy. But after watching, if you, like us, have even MORE questions, keep reading: We found out all the rules the cast has to follow during the experiment. The biggest rule of the show is that the cast members can't see who they're dating. How does this work? The creators designed pods that separate the men and women by glowing walls. Since, you know, the men and women aren't in the same room together, they don't get to touch the person they're dating. No hand holding. No kissing. No hugging. You get the picture. Couples enter the pods and spill their hearts out to one another. After—and only after—you're engaged are the couples allowed to meet face-to-face for the first time. The experiment is broken down into three different sections, starting with the dating period, which lasts 10 days. After getting engaged, couples go to paradise for a week to build their ~physical~ connection. For the last few weeks, they live together in the real world while planning their weddings. Creator and producer Chris Coelen (who's also the mastermind behind Married At First Sight) said it was scary as a producer, because no one's required to get engaged or married. "[On] a show like we do Married At First Sight, you sign up and you know, you’re getting married to a stranger. Here, nobody had to do anything. It was if you find someone, if you choose. Which is so scary. They don’t have to go through with the wedding ceremony," Coelen told Variety. It starts with speed dating. Cast members spend 8-10 minutes with each person of the opposite sex, Coelen told E! News: "In the beginning, just from a practical standpoint, we have to give them certain time limits just so we can them through and they have a chance to talk to everyone...where they just got to know each other." Since they can't see each other before getting engaged, the male and female singles lived in separate parts of the set and had a different team of producers, too. "Life at the facility felt like a sorority," cast member Lauren Speed told OprahMag.com. "You'd think that people would be catty because some people would like the same guy. But we actually formed a sisterhood, no lie." Kenny Barnes told Refinery29 the guys did plank competitions, cooked together, went for runs, and more. Not only did the men and women bring notebooks into the pods with them to keep all of the people they were dating straight, but cast member Jessica Batten told Refinery29 she wrote outside of the pods too: "I did a lot of journaling. I wanted to remember things because every day is like a month in there and so much can change." "We slept in trailers and they were correctional facility beds. The design was to just strip us down from our comfort level," Kenny told Refinery29. Oh, and they were only banking about four hours of sleep a night. Some men and women would visit each other multiple times a day, because "the more they got in there, the more they have these conversations! Deep conversations that they never had with family members or friends or people they've dated," Coelen told Variety. Coelen told Variety that the longest pod session was around four to five hours—and that was only cut short by a pesky bathroom break. "They were there pretty much 24/7. It's funny because we would encourage them to take [breaks], 'You gotta eat! You gotta get some sleep!' But they didn't want to, they wanted to stay in those pods," he said. All of the cast members' devices are confiscated during the first two parts of the experiment, so that they could focus all of their attention on their dates—and couldn't communicate with people outside of the experiment. More than just phones were confiscated. There was no internet connection at all! Meaning no computers, no TV, nada. "We tried to allow them to do anything they could do on a date, without seeing or touching one another or staring at screens," Coelen told Bustle. "So if they wanted to read, we'd certainly allow it, if we could find the book for them." Interesting! It's a vulnerable process to fall in love, especially on TV, so cast members helped each other process their emotions. "Some took longer than others, but every man there went through this 'vulnerability express'—this transformation. You had to go through it. There was such a big support when you saw someone fighting the experience. We were like, 'Listen man, what's up. Let's talk about this," cast member Mark Cuevas told OprahMag.com. No distractions leads to better dates! "We didn’t want any sound to bleed through any other pods," Coelen told Variety. "We basically had a small speaker in the front wall and you would hear the other person who was in the other pod. There’s no producers in there, there’s nobody else. It’s just you and the other person. That's it." As hosts, Nick and Vanessa spent countless hours discussing each cast member's relationship with one another. But as hard as it may be, they weren't allowed to give advice that'd sway the cast based on their knowledge of the others. The whole purpose of the show was for the couples to form strong emotional bonds, so the producers were there to help cast members plan special aspects of each date without impacting the outcome. "We wanted them to make the decisions and them to control their destiny," Coelen told OprahMag.com. The cast had to figure out what they wanted to talk about on their own. "They were never interrupted in terms of like a producer saying, 'Hey, talk about this, talk about that,' they just did what they wanted to do," Coelen told Variety. Vanessa explained in an interview with People Now how some couples got around not knowing what the other one looked like: "I asked the girls, 'What'd you tell them?' And she's like, 'Well I said I look like this celebrity,' and I'm like 'Oh, I can see that,' and I go, 'What did he say?' And mind you, I've seen all the men. And she's like, 'Well he said he looks like this celebrity.' And I was like, 'Okayyy.'" Awkward. The producers tried to make the cast members as comfortable as possible, and would pick up food for the singles. “We could request stuff. If you wanted a special snack they'd go run and get it. Bailey's and coffee was my go-to," Kenny told Refinery29. From wine to vodka, there were no restrictions on what the cast members were allowed to drink. Hey, have you ever been on a sober blind date? They're stressful! Before people narrowed down who they were dating, some even took naps. Other cast members used their time with other people to vent about the person they were interested in. "We ended up finding creative ways to turn that into sessions. I would sit and talk to the girls that I wasn't interested in about [Diamond] and try to reassure myself I'm making the right decision," former contestant Carlton Morton told Refinery29. Since it's not your typical way of dating, the first few conversations might feel strange. "Oh man, it was uncomfortable for a little bit," Jessica Batten admitted to Refinery29. "After a couple of days in there and after you've asked a certain amount of questions, you're kind of like, All right, here we go. What's the next set of questions?" Mark Anthony Cuevas added. The men and women were encouraged to create dates they'd go on in the real world. "They'd say, 'I'd love to have a dinner of lasagna with this person.' So, we'd get them some lasagna!" Coelen told OprahMag.com. Others played games or serenaded their date with the ukulele. The original cast was between 40-50 people. "It became evident as the process went on, from that big group of people, that there were some people that more people were gravitating towards then others," Coelen told E! News. "There was a certain point where we did a whittling down of people just to focus internally on the people who were really connecting, to allow them more time. We ended up having maybe 20-25 people in the pods at that point." Before the first 10 days were up, some couples knew they'd found the one and didn't need more time. At that point, cast members can propose and would see their betrothed the next day. After matching up in the pod, the couples were sent away on an exotic vacation in Cancun, Mexico, so that they could match their physical connection to their emotional one. |
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